And Tuesday Is Happening

Junior High Art Teaching continues. The collage is a total bust with 1st period. TOTAL bust. That class is getting textbooks to work with-- as soon as the email server is up again and I can get the textbook request form. 2nd Period is mostly up and running, working at about 75%. 3rd period should be run great, while I expect nothing but a headache from 4th period. I foresee 7th period working at a solid 50%. 8th period, where "too cool for school" is a way of life, will give their all-- which is about 25% these days. Oh, well. At least I have this seriously warped gem from yesterday's 8th period class...

I'm a...Junior High...Art...Teacher. Help me.

Yep, I'm a junior high art teacher. I recall very specifically telling people in the not too distant past that there was NO WAY I would ever teach Junior High. But here I am. As I look out across my classroom during 1st period, I have to ask myself why. Seriously. About 6 of these kids work. Thankfully, they're hard workers and really do give me some great art. The other 23...I don't know. I'm kind of lost on what to do. Maybe there's nothing to do. Second period is fine. As always,the students are working hard in 3rd period. I know I'll see a definite dip in working during 4th period. Somehow they're actually worse than 1st period. It's really a little demoralizing. I have these great memories of junior high and high school art. I don't remember this lack of working being so prevalent, or the behavior being quite this bad. But then I was probably also one of these 6 students who loved art class. Maybe it was just as bad but I was insulated since I was enjoying things. I don't know. I'm about start rambling. Maybe things will pick up as we get into glazing the ceramics projects. I hope. Sigh...

While I'm up at this obscene hour...

...I'll post these smaller pieces. My first attempt at "breaking away from the rectangle." That's art school talk, dig..?

WTF am I doing blogging at 5:45 AM?

This my work for the Riddle of Steel Print Exchange, a portfolio exchange between the graduate printmaking students here at Texas Tech and printmaking students at the University of Colorado. The piece shown here is my print entitled "Tulane Steel". It's inspired by the true life discovery of a stray razor blade beneath an object of a drawing class' still life I was asked to take down. I wasn't too big on taking down another classroom's still life, especially since we were guests of the university. Heck, I wasn't even officially part of the presentation, I was just tagging along with a couple of my fellow print grads and a couple of my professors who were part of the presentation. I was on vacation! Or so I thought. Anyway, for your enjoyment, here is "Tulane Steel"...

Spring 2012 was a good semester...

"Evening Stroll" Diazo Watercolor Monotype 22" x 30" 2012

"Geese" Diazo Watercolor Monotype 30" x 22" 2012

"Meanwhile, at the Park" Diazo Watercolor Monotype 30" x 22" 2012

"Ghost Story" Diazo Watercolor Monotype 55" x 36" 2012

"James Will Cut Ya'" Diazo Watercolor Monotype 34" x 50" 2012

New Stuff...

Some new diazo monotype work featuring inspiration from my trip to New Orleans. The top one is entitled "Check, Please". The bottom piece is "27th Floor". They're my largest works to date using this process, measuring 36" x 55" each.

New Orleans and SGC (sort of)

So new Orleans is pretty frickin' awesome. I piggy backed down with the other printmaking grads who were going down to the Southern Graphics Council meet. I didn't register or anything, as I wanted to treat the trip more like a vacation. My first and last Spring Break as a student ever. And it was, too. I got the best of both worlds in the trip. I still got to check out some fantastic art while getting a good dose of what New Orleans is. I plan on going back someday for no other reason other than to soak in some more of the city and its flavors. I took a lot of black and white shots for some monotype work or screen print as well. So looking back it was an awesome working vacation. Here's some of the black & white stuff for fun. More potential for portrait work now that I look over it. Could be interesting...